Former LA Gang Member Convicted of Tupac's Murder

A former gang member from Los Angeles, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, was found guilty on Monday by a Las Vegas court for the 1996 murder of famous rapper Tupac Shakur.

Thirty years after Tupac's death, the jury took just a few hours to declare Davis, 63, guilty of murder.

Duane Davis (C) and his lawyer Michael Sanft were taken back to court to learn his sentencing date after a jury found Davis guilty in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 31, 2026. The jury decided Davis was guilty of murder after deliberating for a few hours.

“Count one, murder with use of a deadly weapon, guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon,” the jury foreperson told the court.

Davis could face life in prison without the chance of parole. After the verdict, he spoke to Judge Carli Kierny and said he plans to appeal.

Davis was accused of ordering the killing of Tupac on September 7, 1996, after his nephew was beaten by members of Tupac’s group at a Las Vegas casino. “Duane Davis, in the culture of gangs, could not let that stand,” said prosecutor Binu Palal during closing arguments. “So what did he do? He acquired a firearm, got his group together, and went hunting for Mr Shakur.”

Tupac was in Las Vegas for a Mike Tyson fight. He was shot two hours after the casino incident by a shooter in a white Cadillac that stopped next to the BMW where Tupac was sitting in the front passenger seat.

Prosecutors say Davis gave a gun to someone in the back seat of the Cadillac and told that person to shoot Tupac. Tupac died six days later from his injuries.

Davis is the only person from the Cadillac that night who is still alive. The driver of the BMW, Marion “Suge” Knight, who co-founded Death Row Records, was also shot.

The death of Tupac, also known as 2Pac, has been one of America’s most famous unsolved cases, sparking many debates among music fans about who was responsible and why.

Davis, whose gang was one of several rival groups in Los Angeles during the 1990s, is the only person charged in connection with Tupac's shooting. Sentencing is set for October 13.

The investigation into Tupac’s murder struggled for years due to a lack of evidence. The case gained new life when Davis's memoirs came out in 2019.

Over the years, Davis has claimed he was involved in Tupac’s murder in interviews with police and the media, even in his autobiography, “Compton Street Legend.” He has since changed his plea and said he is not guilty.

Prosecutor Palal used clips from Davis's alleged confessions in his closing arguments.

Davis’s lawyer, Michael Sanft, called his client’s confessions fake and said they were made up to sell his book. “You’re reading a book that is fiction and not fact,” Sanft told the jury. “But the state wants you to believe that this is somehow a confession, that he was there and present at the time of the shooting.”

Sanft argued that there was no evidence linking Davis to Tupac’s murder except for his own words.

Before the trial, Davis’s lawyers tried unsuccessfully to prevent the book from being used as evidence, along with statements he made to police in 2008.

Tupac was just 25 when he died. He was a prominent figure in the East Coast versus West Coast hip-hop rivalry. Known for songs like “California Love” and “All Eyez on Me,” Tupac was the son of a Black Panther. He grew up in Harlem and Baltimore but became a symbol of California hip-hop after joining Death Row Records.